Toilet accessory



Oct. 3, 1961 A. M. GROSSFELD 3,002,704

TOILET ACCESSORY Filed Aug. 12, 1958 F l G. 3

M F IG. 2

mvmon. .z4aron/If6ms5/cf BY k ln-X24 ATTORNEY United States Patent l 3,002,704 TGILET ACCESSQRY Aaron M. Grossfeld, New York, NY. (3001 Valentine Ave, Bronx, NY.) Filed Aug. 12, 1958, Ser. No. 754,600 1 Claim. (Cl. 242--55.55)

My invention is an improvement in toilet accessories and particularly a unit for supporting a roll of toilet paper at a convenient point in a bathroom.

An important object of this invention is to provide a hollow member which can easily be inserted into a roll of toilet paper and is adapted to contain a core or other member of antiseptic and aromatic material and keep it exposed to the outside air without spilling fragments thereof, as said material ages and crumbles, and gradually disintegrates in said member.

Another object is to provide a container member comprising a hollow cylindrical body in which the aromatic and antiseptic substance is to be stored, and which is detachably held between parts which have sizeable perforations in sufiicient number to allow air to circulate through the cylinder freely. Thus the pleasant odors and scents emitted by the contents of the cylinder can be Well diffused outside of it.

A further object is to provide such a unit in which the cylinder is imperforate throughout to retain the contents, and is yieldably supported by movable closures for the ends of the cylinder, so mounted that they will ordinarily abut the ends of the cylinder, but when one is pressed back, the other is disengaged; and the adjacent extremity of the cylinder is then liberated, and can be swung out sidewise, and the entire cylinder taken out to remove and renew the substance within it.

Still another object is to provide a toilet accessory which comprises an open-ended cylinder or tubular casing having ends that are closed by caps yieldably mounted in heads that are rigidly connected by rods separated by spaces wide enough to permit the cylinder to be displaced sidewise, each head bearing studs for supporting the accessory in required position. The rigidly connected heads with yieldable caps engaging the ends of the tubular casing form a very convenient mounting member or device for the casing with the aromatic substance therein and the toilet paper thereon.

Other objects and the utility and advantages of the invention are completely disclosed in the following specification and the novel characteristics are defined in the appended claim. The drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the improvement, but variations may be made in numerous structural details without departure from the essential construction in which the invention resides.

On said drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a toilet accessory according to my invention will all parts fully assembled.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation partly in section, showing how the cylinder can be taken out, and

FIGURES 3 and 4 are end elevations showing respectively a closure for the cylinder, and one of the terminal heads of the device.

The unit comprises a pair of hollow terminal heads 1, rigidly connected by rods 2, and between the heads is a cylindrical body 3 with open ends. The part 3 may be of transparent hardened plastic, and fits detachably Within the heads 1. It is adapted to contain the aromatic and antiseptic substance, which usually has the form of a short core or bar 4. The heads 1 each have inside an open central boss or hearing 5, one of which receives a fixed stud 6 and the other a retractile stud 7; and the unit is placed, for example, in a recess or pocket of the bath- 3,lll]2,704 i atented Oct. 3, 1961 room wall, with bores or hearing holes at opposite sides into which the studs 6 and 7 are inserted. The mounting is done in the usual way by slipping the unit into the open middle of a roll of toilet paper, pushing the stud 7 into place first, pressing on the unit longitudinally to force the stud 7 inward till the stud 6 can clear the adjacent side of the wall pocket and be alined with the bearing therein, and then releasing the unit. Both studs or journals will then be engaged and the unit will be in desired position. it can turn as the toilet paper is pulled and torn off or the roll can turn on the member.

In each head 1 is a circular closure or hollow cap 8 with a cavity 9, each cap being encircled at one end by a flange or shoulder 10 and presenting the cavities 9 to the inside of the heads 1. These caps fit loosely into the ends of the cylinder 3, and .the flanges abut the extremities thereof. The core 4 is thus fully enclosed in the cylinder 3. In one end of the unit is a compression spring 11, which encircles the bearing of the fixed stud 6, and seats against the adjacent head and the hollow or cavity 9 in the adjacent cap. The other cap 8 is also pressed against the cylinder by a similar spring 12 between it and the head 1 at the opposite end. Both caps are of such width thatt they fit nicely into the cylinder and support the cylinder thereon. The springs 11 and 12 keep the flanges 10 in firm engagement with ends of the cylinder 3. These springs 11 and 12 are of equal strength and the length of the cylinder 3 is such that the springs and caps will hold the cylinder so that both its ends are just within the rims of the heads 1. The caps 8 have apertures 13, and the heads 1 have apertures 14 in their circular and flat surfaces for the entrance of air and exit of air and exhalations of the substance 4.

With this unit, if the core 4 begins to crumble, any flakes or other small particles that drop oif are retained within the cylinder, which is supported in horizontal position, the round walls of the cylinder 3 being imperforate and continuous from end to end. At the same time the apertures in the caps S and heads 1 afiord circulation and the pleasant odors and scents emitted by the material 4 in the cylinder 3 can escape from the cylinder by way to the said openings and are disseminated outside, with the result that the roll of toilet paper on the cylinder retains its freshness.

Whenever the cylinder 3 needs cleaning and the material 4 should be replaced, the cylinder is moved lengthwise by hand in either direction, forcing one or" the caps 8 towards the head 1 carrying it, and Withdrawing the opposite end of the cylinder from the other head. The freed end of the cylinder is then swung sidewise and outward till it clears the other cap and head, and then it can be taken out entirely between the connector bars 2 which join the heads 1 permanently together. These bars can, of course, be round or flat or otherwise shaped. A knife blade can be inserted into the disjointed end of the cylinder 3 and the adjacent cap 8, if necessary to facilitate the liberation of the cylinder 3.

The stud 7 has a flange 15 and boss 16 at its inner end, and the spring 12 has a small coil near the end that abuts the adjacent cap 8 and engages this flange to hold the stud in projecting position at the one head 1. At the same time, this journal stud 7 can be pushed inward, when the unit with the toilet paper thereon is to be set up for use. The outer end of the stud 7 has a hole 17 for a projection in the wall pocket, if such a projection is present.

The cylinder 3 is thus of such length and the springs 11 and 12 are of such size and strength that they hold the cylinder at both ends in the heads and, when either is compressed, the other will force the cap 8 containing it not too far out of the adjacent head 1 to obstruct the 3 exposed end of the cylinder 3 when a fresh core in th cylinder is needed.

Having described my invention, what I believe to be new is: A mounting device for an imperforate tubular casing with open ends, said device comprising a hollow head with a rim encircling each end of the cylinder, one of said heads carrying a fixed central journal stud and the other a re-tractile central journal stud, a cap for the adjacent end of the casing in each head, said heads and caps having apertures, a spring between each cap and the head carrying it, connector rods rigidly joining said heads, the length of said rods and the casing and size of said springs being such that when one end of the casing and cap thereat are fully inserted in one head, the opposite end of the casing will clear the rim of the other head and cap therein so that the casing can be removed, said caps having flanges abutting the ends of the casing, the rims of the heads encircling said flanges,

each cap also having a cavity presented to the head carrying it, the heads each having a bearing for the stud carried thereby, said retractile stud having a flange abutting the inner end of its bearing, and a central boss projecting inward from said flange, the spring in the head carrying said retractile stud seating against the head at one end and the cap therein at the other end, said spring having a portion engaging said flange and boss.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 958,678 Pollard May 17, 1910 2,546,820 Grant Mar. 27, 1951 2,639,939 Matchett May 26, 1953 2,753,209 Klasky July 3, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 432,381

Great Britain July 25, 1935 

